68 MANILA AND THE PHILIPPINES 



night attacks was going on, and that again men were losing their 

 lives in the bamboo jungles and rice fields round Manila. 



From the refugee steamers near by the sound of Spanish guitars 

 swept over the quiet sea, and silvery clear voices of girls could 

 be heard and merry laughter ! There they danced their national 

 dances, the Andalusiana and Castillana, on the dirty decks of 

 the vessels, lighted perhaps by only one smoky oil lamp, while 

 officers of the different navies formed the enthusiastic audience 

 of the graceful performers. ' 



Quite a different picture was to be seen in the besieged town, 

 Manila, itself. The deep Pasig river, running down from the 

 large lake (Laguna de Bay) to the sea, divides the town into two 

 parts, differing in their inhabitants, their buildings, their social 

 life, and indeed in almost everything. To the left of the river 

 is the old town Infra Muros. This purely Spanish town is sur- 

 rounded by the walls of the fortress and covers a space of per- 

 haps three-quarters of a mile square. Here the conquering 

 Spaniards first settled 300 years ago. Massive stone buildings, 

 including the government house, the archbishop's palace, mo- 

 nasteries, and cathedrals, line the narrow, dirty streets and 

 squares, in which you meet scarcely any one but monks, soldiers, 

 and dark, proud officials. There is no modern, quick-running 

 life in that mediaeval town ; there are no shops, no offices, no 

 trade. One-third of all the buildings are the property of the 

 church or of the different orders of monks, and another third is 

 composed of the government houses and military establishments. 



Having passed the dark fortress doors and the sleepy sentries 

 before them, you feel in a foreign, long-past world. Here is the 

 residence of that administration which believed that it could 

 still be possible in our time to separate a gifted native popula- 

 tion of more than seven millions from all that modern culture 

 had produced. From this place issued those ominous decrees 

 which prohibited the importation of any books or papers for 

 the natives which had not the sanction of the church, and did 

 not allow the poor man to raise more than one crop of rice a year 

 for his own sustenance, even to prevent his coming to want. 

 Here was settled that division of the whole island of Luzon 

 between the four enormously wealthy and powerful orders of 

 Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Des Recollets, and 

 the government could only silently approve such an arrange- 

 ment, knowing well that in that country it could rule only by and 

 through the omnipotent monks. Like that of medieeval lords, 



